To Begin What is Ending
by revivingophelia
Summary: They teamed up out of necessity... Now they've found another reason. Starts at Vengeance 2011. Eventual Eve/CM Punk, featuring Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and others.
1. Chapter 1

Title: To Begin What is Ending  
Author: Karen U  
Pairing/Character: Eve Torres/CM Punk (eventual), Triple H, Shawn Michaels, others  
Disclaimer: No one you recognize belongs to me  
Rating: R/M  
Summary: teaming up had been strictly out of necessity... now they have another reason.  
Spoilers: Vengeance 2011  
Warnings: language, violence, adult situations

Part One

He yanked the strap of his bag up a little higher on his shoulder, a scowl very evident on his face. The night hadn't gone how he'd intended for it to go, and he couldn't lay the blame at the feet of his tag team partner for the night. In all honesty, he hadn't completely trusted Triple H as they'd headed into their tag team match against R-Truth and the Miz earlier that night, but in reality, Triple H had made for a good partner. And despite the fact that he'd like to blame the other man for leaving him to lose to a double-team by Awesome Truth, it hadn't really been Triple H's fault. After all, the Game couldn't have known that Kevin freaking Nash would show up in the crowd and attack him... It had been then, when he had been starting to try to leave the ring to help Triple H, that Miz and Truth had gotten the advantage once and for all, using their double-team finisher on him and pinning him for the three. Triple H hadn't been able to come to his aid any more than he'd been able to come to Triple H's. So in the end, they'd lost, and Triple H had been jack-knife powerbombed by the guy that he'd once considered one of his best friends. On top of that, Hunter had landed badly when he'd fallen, hitting his left shoulder pretty good, but when he'd gone to check on the other man in the training room earlier, Triple H had said it was nothing more than a jammed shoulder and that he was fine. Punk wasn't sure if that was the truth or just Hunter being macho. Whatever the case, CM Punk figured that the older man would be okay sooner rather than later, and that right now was probably not a good time to be Kevin Nash. 'Cause Triple H was going to be wanting his payback, and his version of such usually included a sledgehammer.

Given the crap that Nash had pulled on him lately, Punk had to say he was looking forward to seeing whatever it was that Triple H did to the big man.

The smallest of smiles touched his face as he let his imagination run away with him for a moment, picturing all sorts of violence being done to Nash, and he was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost missed it. Almost walked right by the little alcove, almost walked by the storage crates that were no longer stacked the way they were supposed to be. Almost walked right by, probably would have, if something hadn't caught his attention, something he saw just out of the corner of his eye. Nothing more than a foot. Or, more accurately, a foot that was inside a wrestling boot. A gold wrestling boot, the size of which indicated it was likely one of the divas... And he could only think of two divas that had needed to wear wrestling boots tonight, and only one of them wore gold ones.

Eve Torres.

His first thought was that Natalya and Beth had ambushed her or something, but that just didn't make sense. Eve hadn't won tonight, Beth had no reason to go for revenge. Yeah, sure, Eve had put up a lot more of a fight than Beth Phoenix had probably ever expected, but the blonde woman had still beaten Eve in the end. The only reason to take her out after the match would be because she was afraid that Eve would come after the title again... And that Eve would be successful if she got another shot.

"Damn it," he muttered, making his way around the crates to find Eve, trying to take in the condition she was in... Cursing viciously when he saw the blood in her hair. He quickly dropped his bag and fell to his knees, unthinkingly straddling Eve's legs as he looked her over, his hand hovering over her face for a moment, wanting to push her hair out of the way but at the same time afraid to touch her. Shaking his head, he looked back over his shoulder, able to see someone else walking down the hallway. A Bella twin, he wasn't sure which, nor did he care at the moment. "Go and get some help now!" he shouted at the diva as she approached, and he could tell when the woman spotted Eve, her eyes widening in a sort of horrified shock as she saw the other woman's condition.

"Hey! We need a medic!" the dark-haired woman was already yelling as she hurried off down the hallway, in the direction that Punk knew led to the trainers' room, and the man quickly returned his attention to the woman he was hovering over, noting that she was starting to come to. He carefully got some of her hair out of her face as he leaned closer to her. Her gaze was hazy at first, but then it suddenly went wild, her body shifting as she tried to move, and Punk was quick to reach out to stop her.

"Eve... Eve, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. You need to stay still. I don't know how badly you're hurt. You need to stay still. One of the Bellas just went to get help," he told her, one hand on her face, trying to keep her from moving her head too much. He could see the cut the blood was coming from now - it was near her hairline - and he was worried she had a pretty bad concussion and that moving around too much would not just cause even more of a headache, but probably make her sick, too. He knew all too well the nausea that could come with a head injury.

Her gaze found his, still wild, still afraid, and he wasn't entirely sure she even really saw him. "Kev... Kevin," Eve managed to say, and he frowned.

"No, Eve. It's not. I'm not-"

"I know," she broke in. "You're Punk. Not what I... Kevin. He's the... one..."

"Wait a minute. Kevin Nash. He's the one that did this?" CM Punk demanded, and Eve nodded slightly, then winced, her face paling, and he knew that the motion hadn't been good for her head.

"Yes," she whispered, then closed her eyes, the diva losing consciousness again.


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

He sat in the chair next to the hospital bed, her hand firmly clasped in his own.

Eve was asleep now, rather than unconscious, the woman having come to on the ride to the hospital. She didn't have any broken bones, thank goodness, just bumps and bruises and a few cuts, the worst of which being her head. The cut near her hairline had needed stitches and the concussion was bad enough that it would keep her out of the ring for at least a couple of weeks. It was also the reason that the doctor had wanted to keep her overnight for observation. Punk didn't know how Eve felt about being stuck in the hospital overnight, but he wasn't about to object to them keeping her. The sight of her unconscious on the floor of the hallway had been enough to scare a few years off his life, and he wanted to make sure that she was going to be okay before they let her go.

That didn't, however, really explain why he was seated at her side, holding her hand while she slept. He and Eve had never really been good friends. No, he'd never had a problem with her. They said hi in the hallways and were always polite to each other and, back before he'd done the whole Straight Edge Society thing a couple of years before, they'd actually hung out a bit. He'd liked her well enough, even if he wasn't always sure her smiles were real and even if he thought she seemed a bit guarded at times. A little too careful about what she said. Still, he'd known she worked hard, that she was incredibly smart, and that she had an interest in Brazilian Jujitsu. One time, at an impromptu party, when he'd decided that he didn't believe she could solve a Rubik's cube in a matter of minutes, he'd handed one to her and insisted she prove it, and instead of getting annoyed with him for putting her on the spot at a party of all places, she'd simply continued the conversation she'd been having with one of the other divas at the time, though she'd also started working on the Rubik's cube as well, and less than ten minutes later, she'd handed it back to him, all nice and solved.

And once, more than three years ago, she had also done for him exactly what he was doing for her right now.

He remembered it, of course, though it had never been mentioned between them. He wasn't good at thanking people, not really, and she hadn't been looking for thanks. But after his head had nearly been kicked off his shoulders by Randy Orton backstage at Unforgiven in 2008, after he'd had to forfeit the World Heavyweight Championship because he couldn't compete... After Chris Jericho of all people had taken his place in the match and walked out the winner... Well, when he'd finally woken up, his head pounding like a bitch from the punt kick he'd suffered, he'd found Eve seated in the chair next to the hospital bed, the diva holding his hand. She'd been the one that had been interviewing him when Orton had come up, so she'd had a pretty good view of what had happened, and he vaguely remembered being relieved when he woke up to find her there, completely uninjured. He was pissed as hell at Orton, furious at the man and his lackeys for what they'd done, but at least they hadn't hurt Eve as well. But that was over three years ago, and this was now... And now Eve was hurt, for reasons he didn't quite understand. There was no reason he could see for someone like Kevin Nash to attack someone like Eve Torres. Maybe it was a case of the wrong place at the wrong time, or maybe Nash didn't take too kindly to Eve turning him down or something... Whatever the case, it was just another reason for him to want to see Nash get the ever-loving shit kicked out of him sometime very, very soon.

CM Punk tensed slightly at the sound of someone else entering the room, but he didn't bother to look up. In the time that he'd been here, various hospital personnel had been in and out, and he figured it was nothing more than another nurse or something stepping in to check on the patient. Because of that, he couldn't help but jerk a little in surprise at the sound of the voice behind him.

"How is she?"

A frown on his face, Punk turned his head to look at the unexpected visitor, noting that Triple H was looking not at him, but was instead looking at Eve, the expression on the older man's face hard to read. "What are you even doing here?" Punk wanted to know. "How'd you know-"

"Hard to keep a secret backstage like that. Especially when one of the Bella twins come running into the trainers' room screaming for a medic," the big man said. "You want discreet, you ask someone else-"

"Yeah, well, she was the first person I saw, and I wasn't about to leave Eve alone in the hallway like that," Punk tossed back, heaving out a sigh as he turned his attention back to Eve, taking his eyes off of Triple H, not particularly caring if the man was insulted by his action. Triple H wasn't the type of guy that took too kindly to having someone turn their back on him. At this point, CM Punk didn't really give a shit.

"I get that. You gonna tell me what the hell happened? Or do you know?"

Punk let out a sigh, his gaze going back to Eve's sleeping face. A bruise was coming up on her jaw. "I know the 'who'. I don't know the 'why'," he finally said.

"Excuse me?" Triple H questioned, and Punk could practically hear the older man frowning.

"I know who did it - Eve told me - but I have no idea why he would hurt her." He paused, frowning as he ran his thumb over the back of the diva's hand. Two of her fingernails looked to be broken. He hoped they'd ended up embedded in Nash's skin. Sighing, he continued. "She said it was Kevin Nash," Punk said, flicking a glance over his shoulder as he spoke and, while he saw the rage in Triple H's eyes at his words, he didn't really note a great deal of surprise. Turning his attention back to the injured diva, Punk spoke again. "What I don't understand is why he would hurt someone like Eve. As far as I can tell, she's never done a damn thing to him. He has no reason to hurt her. Unless hurting her is a way for him to get to someone else. And I can only think of a couple of guys that Kevin Nash has a vendetta against at the moment, and both of them happen to be in this room. Now, as much as I think Eve's a nice enough lady, I don't know her well enough for someone to try and use her against me. Which leaves you."

"Punk-"

"So why, exactly, would Kevin Nash think that hurting Eve Torres would also hurt you? Why would he think that going after her would be a way to get to you?" CM Punk demanded, looking at Triple H again, meeting the man's eyes for a moment... Triple H's gaze moving from him to Eve, and Punk could see the sadness there as the big man gazed at the diva. Still, he wasn't really prepared for the words that came out of the Game's mouth right then.

"Because she's my niece."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer, etc., is in part one. Thanks so much to those that have reviewed.

Part Three

CM Punk's hand tightened almost reflexively on Eve's as he took in Triple H's words, the man having to force himself not to squeeze too hard, not wanting to hurt her. After a long moment, he finally spoke. "Your what?"

"My niece. I have an older sister. Eve's her oldest kid. Her only daughter. My sister wasn't exactly thrilled when her little girl decided she wanted to try and find a way to get in the WWE, that's for sure." The big man paused. "I never pulled any strings for her. She won the diva search on her own. Everything she's accomplished..."

"In order for her to be a two-time divas' champion, she had to win the matches on her own," Punk said quietly, his gaze still on Eve, the wrestler trying to reconcile the fact that the woman laying in that hospital bed was actually the niece of Triple H, one of the biggest names in the company. He never would have guessed it. Obviously, they'd always been careful... And that probably explained a lot about Eve, actually. Those times he'd thought she spent too much time choosing her words, the diva speaking so carefully... Probably trying to avoid letting anything slip. She hadn't wanted anyone to know, probably hadn't wanted anyone to think she'd used her uncle's pull to get anything... And Triple H probably wanted to make sure that no one used his niece against him. It had worked. For four years, it had worked.

Until now.

"How many people know?" Punk asked after a long moment, his thumb moving over the back of Eve's hand as he spoke, though he wasn't really conscious of it. He heard Triple H heave out a sigh from behind him.

"Considering what happened tonight, apparently too many people know. Obviously."

"You couldn't have known Nash would come back and end up doing this," the younger man said, not sure why he was trying to make the other man feel better, but doing it anyway. "I never would have thought..." He shook his head. "Obviously Nash knows. Who else?"

"The rest of the Kliq knew. Though they aren't exactly around anymore. The only one besides Nash that's shown up in the past five years is Shawn and he would never... Shawn Michaels would never hurt Eve. Of course, I never thought Kevin would either-"

"The only way I can picture Shawn Michaels hurting a woman - any woman - is completely by accident. It's not his style." Punk paused. "It's not my style, either. I may be an asshole that likes to randomly insult anyone and everyone, but... I wouldn't hurt Eve. Or Stephanie, for that matter. No matter what kind of problem I have with you - or anyone else - I don't assault women."

"I never thought you did. I probably would have figured out some sort of lie to tell you otherwise. Not that you would have believed it, probably. But now you know the truth. Eve Torres is my niece. Not many people with the company know that."

"Basically me, you, and anyone that was involved in the Kliq. And Stephanie, of course," CM Punk said, unable to keep the slight smile from touching his lips as he thought of something and, despite the fact that Triple H could only sort of see Punk's face given the way the man was standing, he still noticed the change in expression.

"What are you smiling about?"

The younger man shook his head. "Nothing, really. I just realized... Stephanie is technically Eve's aunt. She's not even ten years older than Eve, is she?"

"About eight years older. Of course, I was only a teenager when Eve was born myself, so the age difference isn't huge there, either." The big man cleared his throat. "You're not the only guy outside of the Kliq that knows, though. Cena knows, too."

CM Punk turned to look at the older man, unable to keep the look of disbelief off of his face. "John Cena knows? Are you serious? That guy has a huge mouth-"

"He's kept it shut about this. Trust me, I didn't intend to tell him. Eve doesn't even know that he knows," Hunter said, and Punk frowned at the other man's words.

"Wait a minute. So you're the one that told him... Why? You and Cena aren't exactly close. I mean, not that we're close, either, but... You kind of had a reason to tell me the truth and all. Why would you tell John Cena of all people?"

"It was when Stephanie was pregnant with our third daughter," Triple H told him, the big man shoving his hands in his pockets as he spoke. He winced at the motion, telling Punk that he was still in pain after being dropped on his shoulder earlier that night. "Eve was helping out a lot. Helping Stephanie. Watching the girls sometimes. Helping me get stuff that Steph said we needed. Cena saw me and Eve together a few times and, well... I guess he got the wrong idea. Well, I know he did. He confronted me about the way I was treating my pregnant wife and I ended up going off on him and telling him exactly who Eve was to me and that Stephanie was fully aware that I was spending time with my niece."

"He thought that you were... cheating on Stephanie... with Eve?" Punk managed to ask, and Triple H nodded his head, scowling. "Wow, nice opinion he had of Eve-"

"Which is why I told him that Eve damn well better not find out that he knows, because I would tell her what he'd thought. I don't think he wants her upset with him, and I think the dumbass is actually intelligent enough to realize that his assumption would hurt Eve. That he would think that of her."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I would have assumed that Eve would have better taste than to end up with you," Punk said, ignoring the glare that he received for that, instead heaving out a sigh. "What happens now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... Kevin Nash beat the shit out of your niece to send you a message. I found her, and I sent one of the Bella twins of all people to go and get help-"

"You said yourself that she was the first person that you saw. You sent her to get help because Eve needed help."

Punk nodded. "I did. And I wasn't going to leave her. But the Bellas gossip like they're still in high school or something," the younger man said. "Everyone is going to know that someone took Eve out. It's probably going to come out that Nash is the one that beat her up. He wants it to come out. He wants people to be able to connect her to you for the rest of your career. Hurt her, hurt you. You know I'm right. He's a bastard, and he dragged Eve into it. He put her in the line of fire. So... I ask again. What happens now?" Punk wanted to know, and Triple H heaved out a sigh.

"I don't know."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Four

She really didn't want to wake up, because waking up meant she had to face reality. And at the moment, reality meant that she was in a lot of pain. The diva winced slightly as she opened her eyes, relieved to find that someone had been smart enough to turn the lights off in the room so that it didn't hurt her eyes. Of course, the darkness meant that it was more difficult to see her surroundings, but she knew enough to realize that she was in the hospital. It's where she'd been when she'd woken up before, and she didn't figure they would release her while she was sleeping.

Shifting slightly, she looked around the room, wincing as the movement of her head caused a flash of pain. Unsurprising, really, since she knew she had a concussion. She remembered them telling her that much. She also remembered exactly who it was that had caused the concussion. Kevin Nash. The man that had been, once upon a time, her uncle's best friend. Or at least one of his best friends. And speaking of her uncle... He was here. She could see him now, his too-big form shoved into one of those uncomfortable hospital chairs. She had no idea how it was that he'd managed to fall asleep like that. He'd taken a pretty bad fall on his shoulder tonight after his match - courtesy of the same man that had put her in the hospital - and Eve knew that he'd be in a lot of pain when he woke up.

She also knew that, if her uncle was all the way over on the other side of the room asleep, it meant that there was no way that he was the one currently holding her hand. Her uncle might be a big guy, but his arms weren't *that* long.

Wincing slightly, Eve turned her head to see who was there, frowning a bit as she studied the figure seated beside her bed, her hand firmly grasped in his. She recognized him instantly; CM Punk was easy to recognize. And while she knew that he had been the one to find her tonight, that he'd been the one to yell for help - she vaguely remembered him telling her that help was on the way, but she couldn't remember who he'd sent to get it - Eve couldn't really say that she'd expected CM Punk to stay by her side afterwards. She knew that he'd stuck around long enough to find out if she'd be okay - she had vague recollections of seeing him before she'd fallen asleep before - but she'd really thought that, once he knew the damage wasn't too bad, he'd be gone. She never expected to wake up in the middle of the night and find him sitting beside her, apparently asleep, his hand grasping hers.

Biting her lip, Eve looked at their joined hands... Her skin a few shades darker than his, even in the dim light... His skin marked with tattoos. She had the vague urge to trace the letters of the tattoo that ran across his knuckles, but she held herself back, figuring that was just the head injury talking and deciding that it would be incredibly embarrassing if she woke him up by doing such a thing... But then the soft voice that spoke let her know that she no longer had to worry about that because he was actually awake.

"Hey, there. How you feelin'?"

Blinking, Eve turned her gaze from Punk's hand holding hers, instead focusing on his face. The darkness made his expression hard to read, but his voice was softer than usual, probably in an effort to both save her some pain and keep from waking up Triple H. She tried to smile for him, but it really didn't work very well. "I... I hurt," she finally said, not wanting to lie, because she was pretty sure that CM Punk had a really good bullshit detector and would know she was lying if she said she was okay. And if he was going to know she was lying, then there really wasn't much point in trying it.

"You got a pretty good knock on the head. And some other bruises. You have a few stitches up by your hairline, but they said the blood made it look worse than it was."

"Head wounds bleed a lot," Eve whispered, and he nodded.

"That they do," the man said, flicking a look back to where her uncle was, then returning his gaze to her. "I know."

She frowned. "What?"

"He told me the truth. That your mother is his older sister. That he's your uncle. Obviously, you didn't get the family nose." Eve laughed softly, then winced at the pain in her head from the simple action, and Punk winced as well, giving her hand a squeeze. "Sorry," he said quietly. "Shouldn't have made you laugh."

"Not your fault."

"I should have known better. You've got a concussion and... and bruised ribs. I shouldn't have made you laugh." His thumb moved gently over the back of her hand. "I'm sorry. Do you need me to get somebody?"

"No. I doubt the doctors could do much anyway. I'm only here overnight for observation," Eve said quietly, studying the man in the darkness for a moment before speaking again. "You're being nice."

"Well, tomorrow I can go back to being an asshole if that's what you prefer," he replied, and despite the fact that he'd spoken in the same tone as before and didn't seem the least bit annoyed with anything, Eve felt her eyes well up with tears and before she could stop them, one overflowed, slipping down her cheek.

"I-"

"Damn it, don't cry. Please don't cry. I suck with crying," Punk said, his tone suddenly flustered as the man reached up with his free hand to wipe her tear away. "Eve..."

"It's not you. I just... Bad night."

"I'm sure it was," he replied, one hand still holding hers, the other still up near her cheek. She felt his fingers lightly touch her face again, then he let his hand slide away. "I'm not that great with the whole comforting thing. Just so you know."

"You're doing fine."

Even in the dim light, she could see his incredulous look. "So far I've made you laugh, which hurt you, and then I made you cry. Yeah. I suck."

"But you stayed here. Not everyone would have done that," the diva replied, and he shrugged his shoulders, looking a little self-conscious, which was a bit of a new thing for him.

"Yeah, well... You did the same for me, didn't you? Way back when?" he said after a moment, and Eve blinked at him.

"You remember that. I... I wasn't sure if you did. I..."

"I remember. You were the only one that was there, Eve. Of course I remember."

"You didn't have to stay just because of that," the diva said, her words broken up a bit by a yawn. She was still so tired...

"I didn't. I stuck around because... I just did. Felt like the thing to do," he said, then sighed. "I can leave if you want me to."

She managed to shake her head the slightest bit, wincing a little as she closed her eyes. "No... Want you to stay," Eve told him, her voice barely above a whisper, and she only half-heard his response, his words low as the diva found herself tumbling into sleep again.

"Okay. Then I'll stay."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Thanks for the reviews so far. :)

Part Five

He tried to stretch as he awoke, the big man biting back a curse word at the stiffness in his muscles and the subsequent pain in his body that the movement caused. Hospital chairs weren't really made for men of his size, and the fact that he'd spent the entire night in one after having a match that had already given him some aches and pains had left him more sore than he would care to admit. Even so, there had been no way that he had been leaving last night, not after what had happened. Not after Kevin Nash, a man he had once considered his best friend, had attacked his niece. Not just attacked her, didn't just do some wrestling move on her in the ring; he'd knocked her around backstage to the point where she'd actually lost consciousness and had to spend the night in the freaking hospital.

The thought of it put a nasty glare on Triple H's face, and when he looked over to where his niece was sleeping, what he saw did nothing to improve his mood. He'd thought, of course, that CM Punk would likely get bored with things and leave. Punk wasn't close to Eve and, aside from the fact that the Chicago native had been the one to find her and get her help - and Triple H would forever be grateful for that - there had been no reason for him to stay. But he had stayed, he'd still been there with Triple H had finally managed to drift off to sleep and, apparently, he hadn't left even then. Because CM Punk was still there, seated in a chair that was pulled right up next to Eve's bed, one of her hands clasped in his. The man was actually asleep at the moment, leaned forward so that his head was resting on the edge of the bed, his head resting on one arm while the other was extended, his hand holding tightly to Eve's hand. The Game found himself fighting the urge to reach out and yank CM Punk away from his niece and, truth be told, the biggest reason he was able to keep himself from doing so was simply because he was afraid it would wake up Eve and upset her, and that was about the last thing he wanted to do.

Sighing, Triple H shook his head, the big man making a face as he got to his feet, then jerking slightly at the feel of his phone vibrating in his pocket. He'd thought he'd turned it off when he'd gotten to the hospital, but apparently he'd forgotten to... Or, more accurately, he'd forgotten to turn it back off after calling Stephanie with an update about what had happened. Eve was actually one of Stephanie's favorite people, so she'd been more than a little pissed off to find out what had happened to the younger woman. In fact, it was probably Stephanie calling him now to see how things were, so Triple H made his way out of the hospital room and quickly made his way down the hall, slipping into a visitor's lounge area and hoping that it was okay to make cell phone calls here... The phone had stopped vibrating by then, indicating that he'd missed the call, but he figured he could just call Stephanie back... Only, as he pulled out the phone and checked the missed calls, he realized that it hadn't been Stephanie that had called him; it was Shawn Michaels.

Yeah. That was not a phone conversation that he was looking forward to. Shawn was just as close - maybe closer - to Kevin than he had been. Even so, he knew he had to call Shawn back, so with a heavy sigh, he pressed the button that would dial the number, then lifted the phone to his ear, only having to wait a few seconds before someone picked up.

"Hey, Hunter. I was just about to leave you a message," the familiar voice of Shawn Michaels came through from the other end of the line, and Triple H sighed.

"Yeah. I wanted to get somewhere I could talk without disturbing anyone, that's why I didn't answer a minute ago," he replied, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "How much do you know?"

"Not much. I got a phone call last night from Stephanie. I'm guessing she called me after she talked to you. She figured I would want to know."

"I'm sure she did. Sorry if she woke you up, though-"

"I needed to know this, man. I needed to know just how far Kevin's gone. The man is clearly after you. And after what he did last night, it's obvious he's willing to go pretty far to hurt you." Shawn paused, then asked hesitantly. "How is she? Is Eve okay? Is she going to be okay?"

"Well, she's asleep right now. I haven't really talked to her. The worst of it's the concussion, I guess. Everything else is bumps and bruises. She had to get some stitches because of a cut on her head. Her ribs are bruised."

"I'm sorry, Hunter. I know that Kevin's done some pretty low things in the past, but I never would have thought he'd go after your niece. I thought it was lousy enough that he came out and attacked you last night and basically cost you and Punk your tag match. I never thought he'd put his hands on Eve, too." Shawn paused for a moment, then added. "Stephanie said that CM Punk was the one that found Eve. I'm guessing that's true."

"It is. He's the one that found her, and he made sure that someone went to get help. He even went to the hospital with her," Triple H said, knowing that there were a lot of guys in the company that would have ended their responsibility after making sure Eve got help. A lot of them wouldn't have gone to the hospital. And a large part of the ones that might have made the hospital trip still wouldn't have stayed the whole freaking night.

"Was he still there when you showed up last night? Stephanie wasn't clear on that."

"Oh, he was in here. Truth is, he's still here right now."

"He stayed all night?"

Triple H nodded despite the fact that Shawn couldn't see him. "Surprisingly enough... Yeah, he did. I didn't expect it," the big man sure, careful not to mention the fact that he hadn't exactly been thrilled with the sight he'd seen when he'd opened his eyes this morning. Shawn would probably rattle something off about how he should be grateful that Punk cared enough to stay if he did tell the man about his misgivings.

"Maybe he and Eve are better friends than you thought."

"I didn't think they were friends at all."

Shawn sighed. "So... What does he know? I mean, he had to question it when you showed up, so-"

"I told him the truth. I wasn't going to lie, and I wasn't going to let him jump to conclusions like that idiot Cena did-"

"Yeah, not one of John's brightest moments," Shawn said, then paused. After a moment, he spoke again. "I'm going to be there tonight."

"You're gonna be... What?"

"Stephanie arranged it for me. I'm gonna be at RAW. And when you confront Kevin - like I know you will - I'll be there to back you up."

"Shawn, you don't have to-"

"Yeah, I do. I want to. He went after your niece last night, man. He attacked Eve. He's taken it way too far. And now? He's gonna have to face the consequences."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Six

CM Punk was still there.

It was the first thought that she had upon waking up, the diva very aware of the hand grasping her own... Very aware of the slight pressure against her thigh that was CM Punk's head. Eve winced slightly at the sight of him, not because he was there, but because she knew that the position he was in would leave him in some pain when he woke up. Biting her lip, the diva shifted a little to get a better look at him, grimacing at the pain in her head as she moved, her thumb absently running over the back of his hand, the diva not even aware she was doing it until his hand moved slightly in hers... His fingers flexing then, the man groaning softly as he started to wake up. Despite the fact that he'd been holding her hand as much as she'd been holding his, Eve quickly relaxed her hand, releasing her hold on him, but CM Punk didn't respond in kind, still holding onto her as his eyes opened, the man making a face as he lifted his head, then moved it from side to side in an effort to work out the kinks he had to have in his neck and shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Eve said quietly, drawing the man's attention to her, and he frowned as he looked over at her. If he was aware he still held her hand, he didn't show it. He didn't let go of her hand, either.

"Sorry? What are you sorry about?"

"You're here because I asked you to stay. You couldn't have been comfortable last night," the diva told him, her voice still soft, so soft that Punk was leaning forward slightly to hear her better.

"I've had worse night's sleep. Besides that, you can't really be held responsible for your actions thanks to the head injury. Not to mention that I didn't mind staying," he replied, frowning slightly as he watched her for a moment, then moving when he realized that she was trying to sit up. "I'm pretty sure the bed will raise up for you so you can sit," he reminded her as he got to his feet, dropping her hand so that he could reach for the buttons on the bed, keeping an eye on her as he pressed the button to raise the bed, the man careful not to let her sit up too straight and just as careful not to let the bed raise up too fast. Once he got her up and sitting, he sat back down himself, neither of them saying anything about it when he once again reached for her hand. "How you feeling this morning?" Punk wanted to know, and Eve sighed softly, reaching up with her free hand to rub at her temple, the woman being careful not to touch the bandage that covered the stitches near her hairline.

"Sore. My head's a little iffy still... But it's better than last night," she told him, and he nodded, giving her a tight smile.

"Good. That's good," he said, then frowned slightly, glancing back over his shoulder. "You seen your uncle yet?"

Eve shook her head, then winced a little. "Not yet. I woke up just before you did," she confessed, then looked over at the door, Punk doing the same as Triple H came into the room. He stopped short at the sight of two people watching him, his gaze flicking down to where Punk held Eve's hand in his own, though he didn't say anything about it, the man just stepping inside the room, his gaze moving over to his niece.

"How are you?" Triple H asked, and Eve shrugged slightly, the diva unaware that she'd tightened her grip on CM Punk's hand when her uncle had entered the room... Like maybe she was afraid he'd put distance between them now that Triple H was back.

"I've been better," she said quietly. "Punk said you told him. That you're my uncle."

"Seemed like the thing to do at the time. He was here, I was here, figured the truth was better than letting him jump to some stupid conclusions..."

"Hey, you're still the acting COO of the company," Punk put in. "I might have just figured that you were here to check on one of your employees... Though the fact that I knew who attacked her would have still left me with a few questions. I mean, as far as I know, the only people in the company Nash has a real beef with are in this room, and Eve's not one of them." He looked at Eve. "If he went after you, there was a reason, and I was pretty sure that I wasn't the reason."

"The reason's because he's an ass," Eve muttered, letting her head rest against the pillow, the diva closing her eyes, and Punk frowned.

"You want to lay down again?" he asked, and the brunette shook her head.

"No. I just want to get out of here."

"You have to wait for a doctor to release you for that," Triple H said, and Eve arched a brow at him.

"I could sign myself out. And I will. I hate hospitals, and I have no intention of staying here longer than I have to," she informed her uncle, and though he frowned, he knew better than to argue with her, because that would just make her even more adamant about checking herself out.

"I talked to Shawn," Triple H said then, changing the subject abruptly, probably in hopes of distracting his niece from her desire to leave the hospital... And also because she deserved to know what was going on. "Stephanie called him last night to tell him what had happened."

"I'm guessing Shawn Michaels is on our side about that," Punk said, and Triple H snorted.

"Of course he is. He's also planning to be at RAW tonight. I don't know how he plans to play it, but he's pissed at Kevin for what he did." The Game glanced at his niece. "You always were one of Shawn's favorite people."

"And he's one of mine. Which is why I don't think he should come."

"Eve-"

"He has back problems. I don't want him getting into it with Nash. He earned the right to stay at home with his family," the diva said, and Triple H shook his head.

"Do you think I don't know that? But you're important to him, too. Nash had no right to go after you, and he had to know what he was doing when he went after you. The kind of hell he was going to bring down on himself. From me... From Shawn-"

"And let's not forget me," CM Punk interrupted, looking over at Triple H and meeting the older man's eyes. "If you don't think I'm in this, then you're not thinking. He brought Eve into this, and he had no right. No right to raise a hand to her. So I'm in this, whether you like it or not. Now... If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and try to get a doctor in here."

"Why-"

"If Eve wants out of here, then she'll get out of here. May as well be with one of us," Punk said, giving Eve's hand a squeeze before he left the room, and Triple H made a face as he looked over at his niece.

"I still don't like that guy," he said, and Eve sighed.

"You don't have to like him. You just have to work with him."


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for all the reviews so far. Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Seven

Eve sat quietly on the edge of the hospital bed, the woman ready to get signed out of the hospital... Except for one thing.

"I need clothes," she said softly, a frown on her face as she eyed the wrestling gear that was what she'd been wearing when she'd been brought in the night before. She couldn't exactly wear that out now, the next day, nor could she wander around wearing a stupid hospital gown.

Triple H sighed, gestured rather vaguely toward the door with one hand. "I've got your things. They're in the trunk of my car," the man said, then looked over at Eve. "Lilian brought them to me before I left the arena last night. She thought you would need them."

Punk frowned. "Why would Lilian know to bring Eve's stuff to you? I thought that there were only a few people knew that Eve was your niece?"

Eve sighed, reaching up to run a hand through her hair, then wincing when she touched the bandage near her temple. "There are. Lilian's one of them. I confessed it to her a long time ago... Probably not long before she left the company. I figured she was trustworthy. So far, she's proven to be, and since she brought him my bag last night, then I guess she's proven herself to be really helpful, too," the diva said, then looked over at her uncle, and he sighed.

"Fine. I'll go and get your stuff," he muttered, his tone of voice making it clear that he still wasn't happy about the fact that Eve wanted to check herself out of the hospital, but that he was resigned to the fact that it was going to happen whether he liked it or not. Even so, he ducked out of the room and headed off to get her stuff, leaving his niece alone with CM Punk... The man leaning against the wall near the door as he looked at her.

"Are you sure you want to leave the hospital?" he asked, and she turned her head to look at him.

"You're the one that went to get the doctor to demand that I be released," the diva reminded him, and he shrugged slightly, pushing himself away from the wall and making his way over to her, his gaze moving over her face, then to the bandage that covered the stitches near her hairline.

"Maybe I did. But only because I knew that you wanted to get out of here, and it didn't make sense to try to keep your here when you didn't want to be," he replied, his hand coming up to lightly touch the skin beneath the bandage, then trail over her jaw, gently touching the bruises that were there. "You were pretty beat up last night, Eve. He knocked you unconscious-"

"Trust me. I know what he did. But I'm not going to sit here in the hospital and hide like a scared little girl," the woman told him, her hands twisting in the material of her hospital gown as she sat there. She jerked just a bit when his hands came down to cover hers, but then she relaxed again, the tension slipping out of her shoulders as he turned her hands over and linked his fingers with hers.

"Eve, you have a concussion. Being in the hospital doesn't make you a scared little girl. It just means you're injured-"

"Yes, and they only wanted to keep me overnight for observation. I stayed overnight. They observed. I'm lucid and not really showing signs of the concussion besides the bitch of a headache that I've got, so they think I'm okay. They ran tests, and everything looks good. My ribs will probably keep me out of the ring longer than my head will. I'm okay."

"You got beat up by a three hundred pound man," Punk countered, and she nodded slightly.

"I did. But I'm okay. Or I will be. And I don't need to be here." She sighed, closed her eyes. "I wish Shawn wasn't coming. I don't want..."

"You don't want anyone to get hurt because of you," the wrestler said, waiting for Eve to open her eyes again and meet his gaze before he continued. "But the way I see it is this... Your uncle is figuring the same thing. He doesn't want you to get hurt because of him. And the way he sees it is that last night? You did get hurt because of him-"

"It wasn't his fault. He didn't know that Kevin would... He didn't know."

"He didn't. And it's killing him that you're hurt right now because of some asshole that he'd thought was his friend." Punk sighed. "Triple H and I aren't exactly friends. Never have been, never will be. We teamed up last night because we had to, not because we really give a damn about each other. And the thing is... I figure he knows - at least deep down - that if I'd known you two were related, I'd have never laid hands on you. Hunter and I were beating the ever-loving crap out of each other at Night of Champions. I admit that I talked trash about Stephanie. But I'd have never hurt her. If I knew you were his niece, I'd have never hurt you. And I was the enemy. Nash was supposed to be his friend."

"If he'll go after me, he might go after Stephanie, too," Eve said softly. "I'm not sure if he's thought about that." She tilted her head as she looked at him, wincing just the slightest bit at the pain the motion caused her. "You've thought about it, haven't you?"

"Once I found out the connections, that Nash knew about them... It might have crossed my mind. Good news is that Stephanie doesn't come to shows and they've got good security at the company headquarters. Even so, we may want to mention it as a possibility to Triple H. Or, since he's less likely to take his anger over the idea out on you..."

"I'll talk to him about it soon," the diva said, looking down at her hands again, then lifting her gaze when Punk's hands released hers and came up to cup her face. He frowned a bit as he studied her, and Eve's expression crept towards confusion. "What is it?"

He shook his head a little, but kept his hands where they were, his thumbs lightly moving over her cheeks. "Nothing. I just..." CM Punk sighed, the man taking a step back as Triple H came back into the room, a duffel bag in his hands... Obviously Eve's bag from the night before. The man frowned slightly as he saw how close Eve and Punk were - within a couple of feet of each other despite the fact that Punk had taken a step back - but the man didn't say anything about it, instead taking Eve's bag to the bathroom and putting it down in there.

"Go on and get dressed. I'll see if I can't hunt up that doctor," Triple H told his niece, then sent CM Punk a look. "And don't go offering to help her change or anything stupid like that."

Punk rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't dream of it," he said, watching as the Game left the room, then turning to Eve as she made her way to the bathroom, the diva pausing at the door to look at him. He arched a brow at her, his gaze moving over her face, which was still a bit too pale. "Eve, if you feel shaky or anything..."

"I know. I'll ask for help. And I promise not to tell my uncle you offered."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to those that have reviewed so far. I really appreciate it. :)

Part Eight

He glanced down at the phone in his hands, the man checking it for the first time since the night before. There were a few quick texts, all of them from Kofi Kingston, the man letting him know that he'd taken care of getting Punk's rental car back to the hotel the night before, and that he'd continue to deal with it if he needed to. Another text had asked how Eve was doing, and CM Punk quickly responded to that one, letting him know that the diva was currently being checked out of the hospital. As he finished sending the text, he turned his head to see Triple H leaving the hospital with Eve walking next to him, the diva blinking and wincing at the brightness of the sun... Unsurprising, given the concussion she had. He knew she had to have a headache, and the sunlight could not be helping it at all. She started fumbling in her purse, and Punk made his way over to her, putting his arm around her and ignoring the look he got from Triple H for doing so.

"You okay?"

She nodded slightly, then flinched a little at the pain that the motion caused. Clearly, her headache was bothering her big-time. "I... I'm just trying to find my sunglasses," she said, sighing in something like relief when she pulled out a glasses case, opening it and pulling out some oversized sunglasses, then putting them on with a hand that was a bit shaky.

Triple H cleared his throat, the man looking down at his niece, clearly still unhappy about the fact that she'd decided to check herself out of the hospital. "I need to go and get the car."

"We'll wait for you here," Punk said, glancing at Eve briefly as he spoke, then giving the acting COO of the WWE a look that hopefully let the man know that Eve was safe with him. As Triple H left the two of them - giving CM Punk one last look before he walked away to find his car - Eve heaved out a sigh.

"He isn't happy."

"Well, I don't see much reason for him to be. Someone he thought was his friend attacked his niece last night... And Kevin Nash knew what he was doing when he came after you, Eve. On top of that, you're still way too pale, and I can feel you shaking right now. You should probably still be in the hospital-"

"I wasn't staying there," the diva told him, though she didn't resist at all when Punk led her over to one of the benches in front of the hospital and gently urged her to sit down. Thankfully, Triple H had taken Eve's stuff with him when he'd gone to find the car, so Punk didn't have to worry about it; he just had to worry about the diva herself. The wrestler sat down next to Eve, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, not caring that her uncle probably wouldn't be too happy with it when he came back and saw the way they were sitting... The fact that Eve was now resting her head on Punk's shoulder would probably make the man even more unhappy. Not that Punk gave a damn about that.

Eve sighed softly. "Do you think Kevin will be there at RAW tonight?" she asked, her words reminding CM Punk that, despite everything that had happened, there was still a show that night that he needed to worry about. In fact, they had a few hours of driving to do to get to the next venue. Not to mention that they had to go back to the hotel and check out and get their things.

Punk shrugged the shoulder that Eve wasn't leaning against. "I imagine he will be. I figure that John Laurinaitis will make sure that he gets into the arena."

"Do you think he's working for Vince?" the diva asked, and Punk frowned at that.

"Nash?"

Eve shook her head slightly, her head moving against his shoulder a bit. He thought she might have flinched at the motion, but he wasn't sure. "I... Not Kevin. I'm talking about John. Laurinaitis. I... He's been Vince McMahon's right hand man for a long time, and well... You remember Money in the Bank," she said, the flatness of her tone making it obvious that it was a statement and not a question, but Punk replied anyway.

"Of course I do."

"Then you remember that when Vince tried to screw you out of the title, Laurinaitis was the one that went out there with him. That's who he sent to ring the bell. Cena let go of the hold and punched Laurinaitis, otherwise..."

"Otherwise there would be a Chicago screw job to go with the Montreal one," Punk finished for her. Eve nodded again, the motion slight.

"Right. My point is... Laurinaitis does whatever Vince McMahon tells him to. He's loyal to Vince. And with the way things have been... Someone doesn't want Triple H to continue being in charge of Monday Night RAW. Even more important, they want him to fail so badly that he loses his spot as the acting COO as well. Who, more than anyone else, would want Hunter to fail? Who would have the most to gain from it?" she asked, and there was really no answer needed. It was obvious where her mind had gone, what she thought was going on, and Punk couldn't say he disagreed with her. The idea made sense.

"Vince McMahon. A long time ago, he brought the NWO into the company, wanting to tear it apart from the inside because he'd rather ruin it than not have control. And now... He doesn't have control. Of course he would use the inside man to fuck things up. He wouldn't care about the damage done during the time it took him to get the power back."

"And Laurinaitis would probably get rewarded for helping him get it back. Maybe even get to be the RAW General Manager himself. He'd love the power. The jerk thrives on it," Eve said, and CM Punk frowned.

"But if Vince is in on this, and Laurinaitis is the one that's letting Kevin Nash in... Does that mean... Do you think that they knew what Nash was going to do last night? I mean, I know you're not related to the McMahons, but you're still Triple H's niece... Which makes Stephanie your aunt, at least by marriage... And earlier, we were saying... What if Nash goes after Stephanie? He knows your connection to Triple H and exploited that... Is Nash under their control, or just a loose cannon? Because surely Vince wouldn't..."

"He made his daughter face him in an 'I Quit' match at No Mercy in 2003," Eve reminded him. "It was obviously before our time in the company, but... I remember that match. Stephanie didn't do what he wanted her to, so he just about tortured her. He assaulted his own daughter, Punk. That's who Vince can turn into. If he wants something bad enough, he'll do anything to get it. No matter who stands in his way."

"Which means that... If Vince is behind all of this..."

"Then we're in really big trouble."


	9. Chapter 9

disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Nine

He settled deeper in his seat, his gaze sliding over to the woman that was seated just a few feet away from him, going over files as they waited for the WWE's corporate jet to take off. "I know I told Hunter that I'd be at RAW tonight... But did you bother to tell him that you were coming as well?" Shawn Michaels wanted to know. He'd been more than a little surprised earlier when he'd stepped onto the plane to find that he wasn't the only passenger.

Stephanie McMahon lifted her head, looking over at him as she set the files down in the seat beside her. "It may only be by marriage, but Eve is my niece. She was attacked last night. I want to go out there and see her. With any luck, I'll be able to talk her into staying at the hotel with me instead of going to RAW with the rest of you," the brunette woman said, frowning slightly. "I started arranging this trip as soon as Hunter called me to tell me that Eve was hurt. Then when I found out that it was Kevin Nash that had attacked her..." Stephanie shook her head at that, her expression troubled, and Shawn heaved out a sigh.

"It doesn't really seem real, does it? To have him attack Eve like that..." The man shook his head. "And what really makes me angry is that if I hadn't been out of town on business... Vengeance was in San Antonio last night. If not for me being away for business, I would have been there. Maybe... I don't know if I could have done something, stopped it, but... I can't help thinking that maybe I could have. Which is probably stupid, since Hunter *was* there last night, and he couldn't stop it."

"He never would have thought Kevin would stoop so low. I didn't think it, either. But Eve wouldn't lie. We know it was him. He put her in the hospital."

Shawn made a face. "I'd like to put him in the hospital," he muttered, then grimaced. "That's more 'an eye for an eye' than 'turn the other cheek'."

"When someone hurts someone that you care about, it's natural to want justice. Or revenge. However you want to put it. I know that you practically think of Eve as your niece... Even if you're not related to her. You're practically family anyway. Of course you're mad. You want Kevin to pay for what he did. We all do."

"Hunter's not going to be happy that you're showing up, too," Shawn replied, looking over at her. "I mean, since you didn't answer my question earlier, I've got to assume it's because you didn't want to admit that he doesn't know you're coming."

"Maybe he doesn't. But the thing is... Right now, Eve is going to have Hunter, you, and - if he hasn't taken off yet - CM Punk around her. Three men. It wouldn't hurt for her to have a woman around and it's going to be me. Eve is a part of my family."

"What did you tell the girls?"

"I told them that Eve had an accident and that Daddy was with her and that I was going to go and see her. They wanted to come, of course - they love Eve - but I couldn't do that. It would just be... Too much. She has bad ribs and a concussion and Eve doesn't need to be around three rambunctious little girls right now. So... They're staying with my brother and his wife and their cousins and are quite happy about it... Even though they're worried about Eve." Stephanie paused. "Shane wants me to call him and let him know how Eve is doing. And he wants me to let him know if he's needed."

"Really? Shane hasn't gone anywhere near the WWE in two and a half years, if I'm right on my math. And now..."

"He likes Eve." The woman cleared her throat. "You know... Daddy was never that interested in meeting Hunter's family. He... He knows now that Eve is Hunter's niece, but... The entire time she was in the diva search, he never knew. He'd never bothered to know. It wasn't until she won the divas' title for the first time that he actually found out, and it was my fault that he did. That's how little attention my father pays to my in-laws. He just... didn't care. I'm pretty sure that, at least at first, he thought that Hunter was a phase I was going through. Then I had three daughters. And then suddenly Hunter was part of the family... Even though I'm still pretty sure that Daddy's disappointed that Hunter and I didn't give him any grandsons. At least Shane gave him that. But in all honestly, I think Daddy's still annoyed about the fact that Hunter wouldn't change his last name to McMahon."

HBK let out a snort at that. "No offense to you, Stephanie, but Vince... He's always been a bit of a piece of work. Always. Let's remember, your dad once booked me in a tag team match with God as my partner," the hall of famer said, and the former women's champion cringed at that reminder.

"I know. He just... Everything is about him and about this company. About the WWE. He has to be in charge and, right now... He's not." The woman shook her head. "He lost it, you know. When CM Punk was going to walk out with the WWE title. When he won at Money in the Bank and walked out with it. I'm not blaming Punk for it. Dad's lunacy is on him, not on Punk... And I know CM Punk made sure that Eve got the help she needed last night, but... Back in July, at Money in the Bank and the weeks leading up to it... That's when it went off the rails for Dad. At least this time. It's not like it hasn't happened before. And then the board replaced him as the Chief Operating Officer, putting Hunter in control instead and then Hunter ended up in control of RAW and now... He's being undermined. Everyone knows it. Someone doesn't want Hunter in charge."

"There could be a lot of people that don't want Triple H in charge of RAW... Or as acting COO," Shawn stated, looking over at her, and the woman snorted.

"I've known you a long time, Shawn. You're a smart man. There may be a lot of people that want to cause Hunter problems as the COO and the RAW general manager, but how many people have the means and the power to really and truly do it?"

"Stephanie-"

"John Laurinaitis brought Kevin Nash into the company. We all know that. The first time Kevin showed up, he took out Punk. He claims he was told to take out whoever won... And maybe he was told that. The match was Punk against Cena. CM Punk got the better of my father. And Dad probably blames John Cena for it, too. Because Cena demanded the match at Money in the Bank, and he wouldn't let a screwjob happen. When Dad tried for it, Cena knocked Laurinaitis flat. The next night? Dad lost power. It's not a coincidence that one of those men is who got taken out that first night. And now Kevin's focused on Hunter. The man that took over as the COO when Dad was removed. Two men that humiliated my father. Laurinaitis may be the guy that brought Kevin in, but he's not the one pulling the strings. We both know who's really behind all of this."

"You think Hunter's put it together yet?"

"I don't know. But Eve's a smart girl. I bet she has."

"You think she'll tell Hunter?"

"If she wants Hunter to let her set foot in another arena before this is over? Probably not."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to all that have reviewed/favorited/followed this one. Happy New Year!

Part Ten

"You got someone you can trust with your stuff?"

CM Punk jerked slightly at the sound of the voice, looking over at the acting COO of the company as he realized that the older man was talking to him. "Kofi took care of everything last night. He said he'd keep up with it if he needed to."

"Then text him and tell him he needs to. We're going straight from here to the next town. I want to get checked into the hotel and have Eve settled there as early as possible." He glanced over at his niece. "Lilian made sure that I had all of your stuff, not just your bag from the arena. It's in the trunk with mine."

Eve nodded slightly, apparently in no mood to argue, though she did give her uncle a look. "And here you complained like crazy when you first found out that Lilian knew we're related. It came in handy this time around, didn't it? You didn't have to concoct some story about why you were so intent on making sure I was okay."

"It's not like I'll be concocting stories for much longer anyway," Triple H said. Frowning, he glanced into the backseat of the car again, not commenting on the fact that CM Punk currently had his arm around Eve, the young woman's head resting on the Chicago native's shoulder. He might not be all that comfortable with Punk being so close to his niece, but right now Eve's comfort was a hell of a lot more important than his own. Eve seemed to take comfort in the Straight Edge Superstar's presence, so Triple H was going to hold his tongue and not complain about it. Clearing his throat, the big man continued to speak. "I spoke to John Cena earlier."

CM Punk arched a brow at that, the man finishing up the text he'd just composed to Kofi - with just one hand since his other arm was around Eve - and hitting send before responding. "What did he have to say?" he wanted to know, thinking about the match the man had been in the night before. Cena'd had a match for the WWE title against Alberto Del Rio... A last man standing man, which was tough anyway, but made all the more difficult because Del Rio had his own personal ring announcer out there to help him... Not to mention the fact that the ring had actually freaking collapsed during the Big Show vs. Mark Henry match that had been right before theirs. Not exactly optimal conditions for a match. And in the end, thanks to Del Rio getting some help from Rodriguez, Cena had lost the match. He couldn't be happy about it.

Triple H sighed. "He was worried about Eve, of course. With me being the acting COO, he figured that I would know what was going on," the man stated, and Punk started to make a remark about it being obvious that Hunter would know since he was Eve's uncle... But then he remembered that Triple H had said that Eve wasn't aware that Cena knew. And given the fact that Cena only knew because Triple H had gone off on the West Newbury native when he'd made the wrong assumptions about the Game's relationship with the diva... Well, he understood why Eve didn't know. But Punk kind of thought that she'd be finding out the truth about Cena knowing what was what before too long. Just like everyone would likely find out the truth about Eve being Triple H's niece.

Eve shifted slightly against Punk's side, the diva's hand playing with the material of the man's t-shirt. "Are you sure he didn't just call you because he knows you're my uncle?" the woman questioned, her words surprising Triple H so much that he jerked on the wheel, having to quickly correct himself to keep them in the correct lane.

"What? What did you say?"

"He knows. John Cena knows I'm your niece. He's known for awhile." She gave the best shrug she could manage given the position she was in. "He let it slip one night a couple of months ago. He wasn't happy about you making yourself the special referee in the SummerSlam match between him and Punk, and he was complaining to me about it, and then he told he me was sorry for talking bad about you since you're my uncle and well... He kind of had to admit that he knew then. We made a deal not to tell you that he'd let it slip to me."

"Little jackass," Hunter muttered, and Eve managed to smallest of smiles.

"Not so little. Especially since he also admitted why it was that you told him the truth. He offered to let me slap him around for it, but I figured he would enjoy that too much." She sighed. "So anyway... What did John have to say?"

"He wanted to know how you were, first of all. He also wanted to know who had attacked you. He figured that it was Kevin. Which, you know... Since he knows about the connection between the two of us, I guess it was the obvious jump. He also told me that the big rumor backstage was that Beth and Natalya were probably the ones that attacked you. That they think you're a bigger threat than Kelly ever was, or something like that. Which is reasonable enough. You don't look scared of them like Kelly does half the time, and that's probably something they don't like. But we all know that they aren't the ones that did this."

"It wouldn't shock me if they tried to claim responsibility for it or something. Make themselves seem more bad-ass or something," Eve replied. "Try and make all the other divas scared of them."

Triple H snorted. "Somehow, I don't think that would sit too well with Nash. He's going to want to take credit for his work. The bastard." He flicked a look back at Punk. "Cena offered to give us a hand, by the way. If we needed it. He doesn't like Nash, either, and he was definitely pissed about what Kevin pulled last night."

"Not surprising," Punk said, and Eve arched a brow, commenting not on Cena when she spoke, but on Natalya and Beth.

"You know, it would almost be funny to see Beth and Natalya try to take credit for putting me in the hospital last night," the woman mused, and Triple H glanced back at his niece using the rear view mirror.

"You know Kevin isn't going to let someone else claim they did it. He wants people to know who did the dirty work, and he'll want people to know why he did it."

"I know that, my dear uncle. Which is why it would be funny if the others tried to take credit. I'd pay good money to see the looks on Beth and Nattie's faces when Nash comes out there and calls them on their shit. They may not be scared of the other divas, but they'd probably be scared of him."

"You can be a little vengeful sometimes, you know that?" Triple H asked, and Eve gave a slight smile.

"It runs in the family."


	11. Chapter 11

No, your eyes do not deceive you; this is an actual update.

Disclaimer, etc, in part 1.

Part Eleven

"You're friends with Punk, right?"

Kofi Kingston looked up at the sound of the voice, the man frowning as he saw one of the Bella twins standing just a few feet away from him, an earnest expression on her face. They were standing in the hall of a hotel, Kofi about to go inside his own room, while the woman appeared to be headed to get some ice if the bucket in her hand was any indication. Unfortunately, while he knew the woman that had approached him was one of the Bellas, he had no idea which twin it was - he didn't know the divas well enough to be able to tell them apart, especially given their tendency to have matching ring gear. Granted, this twin was in street clothes at the moment, but jeans and a light sweater didn't exactly tell him if he was talking to Nikki or Brie. It wasn't like she had a nametag on or something. And she'd probably get pissed if he suggested one.

"Yeah," he finally answered, knowing he was watching the woman a bit warily, but figuring he couldn't really be blamed for it. After all, the Bellas were kind of known for being sneaky and underhanded. And this was the first time either one of them had approached him since... well, possibly ever, come to think of it. "So?"

"Have you heard from him since last night?" the woman asked, shifting slightly as she stood there... And it was then that Kofi remembered that it had been one of the Bellas - he'd never heard which one - that had gone running for the trainers the night before after Eve had been found. And as pretty much everyone in the company knew, CM Punk had been the one that had found Eve after she'd been attacked, so obviously he was the one that had sent one of the Bellas for help. The realization made him feel a little less wary, though he still wasn't sure why one of the Bellas would care about Eve. Which sounded harsh, yes, but the two divas weren't exactly known for caring about people besides each other.

"Once or twice," Kofi finally said though, in truth, he'd gotten several texts from Punk over the course of the night. The man had asked him to take care of his things for him, yes, but he'd also given him a few updates on how Eve was doing and what her injuries were. Punk had even told him who it was that had been responsible for the attack on Eve... Though the man hadn't given any reason as to why Kevin Nash would attack Eve Torres of all people. That was the thing that really didn't make sense to him. On some level, Kofi understood why Nash had come out there at SummerSlam and attacked Punk after the Chicago native had won the WWE title. Granted, the result of it had sucked since Punk ended up losing the title immediately after the attack, since Del Rio had cashed in Money in the Bank on him and all... But the reason for the attack still made a sick sort of sense. Nash had attacked CM Punk to make an impact. And he'd done it. Last night, Kevin Nash had gone out there during the tag team match in which Triple H and Punk were facing the Miz and R-Truth and attacked Triple H... His former friend that hadn't sided with him with all of this. The former friend that Nash had tried to claim had texted him with the message to attack whoever won at SummerSlam. That had made an impact; that had sent a message.

For the life of him, Kofi couldn't understand what kind of a message attacking one of the divas had been meant to send... Aside from 'I'm a huge asshole', of course. As far as he knew, Eve wasn't close to Punk, nor was she close to Triple H, and those were the two people that Nash had been messing with since his return.

"Kofi? You okay?"

He blinked at the sound of the Bella's voice, the man once more wishing he knew which one it was, but not willing to ask because he figured that it might offend her if she knew he couldn't tell her apart from her sister. "Yes, I just... Still trying to figure out what the hell happened last night, you know?" he said after a moment, and the woman nodded.

"I know. When I told Nikki that Eve was attacked," the woman said, unknowingly letting Kofi know which twin he was talking to, the knowledge making some of the tension slip from the man's stance. Brie shook her head. "It's just... weird, you know? Beth won the match. And Beth and Natalya were pretty much in the divas' locker room gloating for the rest of the pay per view. I just don't see..." She leaned a little closer. "It would make the most sense if Beth and Natalya were the ones to attack her but... I just don't think they did it. I mean... They're tough and all, but you would think that Eve would have been able to do something. Fight back. Plus, they just wouldn't have had the time. I don't get it."

"Me, neither, actually," Kofi said, and that much was true. He didn't get what had happened, either, though he knew more about it than Brie Bella did. He, at least, knew who it actually was that had attacked Eve. Unlike her, he wasn't trying to figure out likely suspects. Of course, just because he knew who had done it didn't mean it made more sense to him.

"Do you... Did CM Punk tell you how Eve's doing? I kind of kept an eye out for him this morning, when I was checking out of the hotel from last night... But I never saw him. I don't even know if he came back or not-"

"He decided to stay at the hospital with Eve. Didn't want her to be alone, I guess. Wanted to help her when she got out. He texted me this morning, asked me to get his stuff to the next city. So I'm guessing he plans to be here tonight. I don't know if Eve's coming with him or if she's being sent home or... I do know that she's out of the hospital."

"She... I didn't really get a good look last night, but from what I saw... It looked kind of bad."

"I know she has a concussion. And maybe some bruised ribs."

"There was blood."

"Could be from whatever caused the concussion," Kofi replied. "I don't know everything about it, Brie... But I know that she was released this morning. Hopefully that's a good sign that she'll be okay."

The diva nodded. "Yeah. I... Thanks for the information, Kofi. I appreciate it. And, uh... If you talk to Punk or Eve first... Can you tell her that Nikki and I hope she's okay? And that she's back soon?" she asked, and the wrestler nodded.

"That I can definitely do."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

* * *

Part Twelve

She felt a gentle hand lightly stroking against her cheek, her hair being carefully pushed back, the diva shifting slightly at the touch... Wincing a little at the pain in her aching head. Lifting her head, she realized that she'd been resting it against someone's shoulder, and Eve realized just as quickly that the person she'd fallen asleep against was none other than CM Punk. It had to be him; after all, her uncle was driving the car they were in.

Trying to push away the feeling of embarrassment that came with falling asleep on her coworker, Eve tried to surreptitiously get a look at his shirt, hoping she hadn't done something so embarrassing as drooling on the guy, the woman fighting the urge to sigh in relief when she noted that his shirt appeared to be dry.

"You okay?" Punk asked her then, his hand coming down to lightly take hold of her chin, the man gently tilting her head up so that he could get a better look at her. The slight frown on his face told her that the bruises she'd gotten were all too visible. The stitches were covered by a bandage, but the bruise had blossomed out around it, and she knew there was a bruise on her jaw as well. Her side - which CM Punk had yet to see - was a vibrant shade of purple thanks to the bruised ribs she'd acquired. All in all, she was a mess, and looked like what she was: the victim of a brutal attack.

Punk's thumb stroked over her cheek. "Eve?" he said questioningly, reminding the diva that he'd asked her a question and she hadn't actually answered him yet.

"I'm okay. Just sore," she told him, straightening up a little in her seat, the woman becoming very aware of the fact that CM Punk's arm was wrapped around her shoulders. Not wanting him to take his arm away, she stayed close to him, the woman looking up into the front seat of the car, fully expecting to find her uncle sending annoyed looks their way because of how close they were. Instead, she saw that the front seat of the car was empty, the woman realizing that the vehicle wasn't in motion. "What...?"

"Stopped to get sandwiches. He didn't want to wake you up, and he said he knew what you would get. He wrote down my order, so hopefully he doesn't screw it up on purpose," the Chicago native said, smirking slightly as he spoke, and Eve shook her head, careful not to move too quickly, knowing that would make her head spin.

"He won't do that. He'd know I would get mad at him, and he wouldn't want that. Plus, whether he admits it or not... You helped me last night, and deep down, he's grateful for that," the woman said, looking the wrestler in the eye as she spoke, very aware of his touch as he stroked his fingers down the side of her face, not quite touching the bandage there, then slid his fingers over her jaw, a feather-light touch over her bruise. She had to fight not to shiver at the gentle touch.

"Too bad I didn't get there quicker. Fast enough to stop it from happening," he muttered, and Eve sighed, shaking her head slightly, mindful not to move too quickly, the woman able to see the regret in the man's eyes.

"It's not your fault... Which I'm sure you know. It happened. There was no one there to stop it, and it... happened. If you'd been around, he might have waited, but he probably would have just picked another time. He wanted to send my uncle a message, and I was the message that he wanted to send," the woman said, then sighed, settling back a little against the seat, very aware of Punk's arm still around her shoulders. "Better me than Stephanie."

"Eve-"

"She has three children, Punk. Can you imagine Triple H having to explain to them that Mommy's in the hospital because Uncle Kevin - and yes, the girls do call him that - hurt her? It will be hard enough for them to know that he hurt me, but it would be so much worse if he hurt their mother and put her in the hospital."

"The way I see it, Nash deserves to have his ass kicked either way," Punk replied, shaking his head when Eve went to speak. "Whether he attacked you or Stephanie... He's what, three hundred pounds? You're what... one hundred twenty-five or so? He had no business putting his hands on you-"

"I'm not saying he did. He deserves whatever Uncle Hunter dishes out to him. I'm certainly not trying to say any differently. I just wouldn't want to be watching my little cousins who are just little girls trying to deal with Mommy being in the hospital because of someone they thought of as part of the family," Eve told him, tears shining in her eyes as she spoke, and Punk heaved out a sigh, shifting so that his arm was no longer around her, the man instead cupping her face in his hands.

"I get what you're saying. I do. But I'm pretty sure those little girls are going to be upset that their cousin Eve went to the hospital, too," he told her, thumbs stroking lightly over her face as he looked at her... The man swallowing hard when he realized just how close Eve's face was to his... Somehow, they seemed to be even closer than they had been before, like they were leaning in to one another. Gritting his teeth slightly, Punk reminded himself that Eve was injured, she had a concussion, there was no way he should want to lean closer to her... And even if he wanted to, then he shouldn't because the past day had been way too emotional and trying for her and she didn't need him to make it even more complicated by doing what he very much wanted to do right now.

"Punk?" Eve whispered questioningly, her gaze moving over his face as she spoke, her expression searching, and he found himself shifting a little closer to her, and he thought she was moving closer to, and then... "Hunter's coming."

It took a second to register her words, but when he did, he immediately shifted away from Eve, moving so that they weren't so close, his hands no longer on her face, though his arm was once again around her shoulders. And it wasn't so much that he gave a shit what Triple H thought - he didn't - but he knew Eve wouldn't want them to argue, and he also knew that Triple H would throw a fit if the man saw him that close to Eve, looking very much like he was about to kiss her. Eve had been through enough already; she didn't need to deal with them arguing with one another.

"We'll continue this later," he said quietly, meeting Eve's eyes, the woman staring at him for a moment before slowly nodding, the two of them then turning to look out the window, calmly watching as her uncle approached with the bags of food in his hands, completely oblivious as to what might be stirring between the pair in the backseat.


End file.
